Her trousers are made of a delicious floral cloth, full of colours that are warm but not excessive. Bright colours are present on the accessories too, but there is however a good equilibrium for the use of neutral colours on the other elements…I like it.

First off , every stroller has a safety belt system that ever responsible parent will use. Second of all she is lifting the stroller to place it over the curb which is why the angle of the baby section looks so steep.

Hi, I agree with you. Im a new mum and I find it shocking sometimes to see these new overly -engeenered prams all over, I think theay are uncomfortable for a baby (you can see they are squizzed inside) and expensive. I have a pram in old style, from good Italain brand and in a way is so uncommon that I get people stopping me and asking where I got my pram from;)

Would you have made a comment like this if she were fat? Why comment on someone’s body type/size? Would you want people commenting about your physique on the internet, even if it’s couched in faux concern?

Would she have made a comment like that if the woman were fat? Who knows? Fat women are never shown on fashion sites. Never. And if they were, you can bet the comments would be much more critical than this.

How incredibly insensitive. And what a ghastly thought to think that there are people out there who would “recommend” that a beautiful woman hide part of her physique because of her (like, your) personal aesthetics.

Thank you for publishing a rare street family shot. It is refreshing to see this image depicted, however, the woman looks so slim and ill. It is taking from the power of a stylish everyday lady, who balances life, motherhood and looking confident in her sense of natural style. Of course, it may not be the case at all, I do not know this woman’s story, but it appears to be that awful image of fashion, the pressure to remain slim and light, to appear elegant and graceful. It is just a thought, but I welcome the story your are trying to access.

Anyway I think pictures with family are a great way to capture moments when people act just like themselves. Or friends pictures. I really enjoy the few you made, and this one, though sad in my opinion, is very particular too, I do like it, thank you for sharing !

I am sorry but, like Rebecca, the only thing that struck me in this picture was the thinness of the “stroller-driver”:
the slim pants floating as if they were boyfirend cut, the tiny, wired wrists, the protruding collarbones, the beautiful but razor-cut profile.
(Within certain limits, that also depend on culture and fashion and time) every body weight can conjure a healthy image…or one of distress/illness, be it psychological or physical.
I do not know anything about this woman (and neither do you or anyone else on this blog), but I know I feel uneasy by looking at her image-I feel like something is wrong.
Of course it might not be the case at all, but (good) pictures are like that, they elicit a response.
In this case, I wonder at the people noticing the stroller, the zara-esque floral print where I can only see “bones”. It’s the beuaty and the distress of sharing different opinions. I’m with Rebecca.

I think Rebecca is just afraid for the woman Scott. If a woman was over weight like my parents ,yes I would hope they did not hve Diabetes. Sorry scottt, I hope she is not anorexic, she looks it though and both deseases can kill you, this is a sad fact.

I don’t think the comments were comments about people’s weight in general or people’s weight in the fashion world. I think the comments referred to the fact that this woman is really extremely skinny (it’s not only the chest, muscles or not, her arms and legs are disturbingly thin) and it unfortunately does not look natural at all, which makes it a little scary.

At face value, your point that “[Rebecca] wouldn’t say that on a blog if she was overweight” is an argument that holds water. But the moment I start to scratch the surface I think its made out of straw. Pointing out a double standard in Rebecca’s point fails to give credence to a very special double standard of its own kind occurring within the fashion world.

In other words, the celebration of the visual signifier of the skeletal female represents its own “double standard” to put it lightly. We are bombarded with the images of fantastically thin women, images which have propogated diet culture, eating disorders, and the like (I in no way hold the women, models, etc accountable–I hold the society capitalizing on these images accountable). The thin women is to be celebrated. Meanwhile, fatness has little to no cultural representation. Fatness is stands largely as a cultural signifier of “bad”, of excess, of the pitfalls of consumerism.

My point being that of course no one would make the same comment about a fat person in a blog. Degrading comments and treatment regarding fatness/fat folks are made daily.

The discourse needs to change. Pointing out the bloggers’ comments as hypocritical in regards to the treatment of bodies is a weak inversion of a very powerful discourse’s own hypocrisy.

I think you miss the bigger point. I’m just asking everyone to be a little nicer and thoughtful when making a comment about someones weight.

Sonia

July 1, 2014 at 11:54 am

If you do not know her story, why comment? You can lose so much weight whilst breastfeeding, she MAY be ill or shocker, she is a naturally skinny person. They do exist. It should not be for you to decide how skinny is too skinny. There is a real person behind this photo that you are criticising to no gain.

People need to leave this woman alone about her weight. She could be this petite naturally; yes, it IS possible to be thin and healthy. And even if she pushes herself to be thin, what business is it of yours to overlook her style and comment on her unfit body structure? Goodness. She’s beautiful and has great style!

At first glance, one thinks… Ahhhh… Spring is in the air – flowered pants And Lots of beautiful gold jewelry… And the ballet flats are lovely. But on second glance, I’m feeling a sense of discomfort on her behalf. As someone else has already said – we don’t know this persons story, but I am really feeling that there is something sad behind the scene. Of course, it is not your task to provide us with images that only show the lighter side of life. Of this we can be clear, but what the motivation behind publishing such a photograph is, is the question.

Good fashion sense, yes. Something just does not add up here. The baby carriage is for a tiny baby, and yet the woman pushing it is scary thin–certainly not a plausible image of a new mom. The contradiction invites several possible interpretations and likely scenarios. Perhaps that is the point of this photograph. It makes one ponder and try to tease out one or two narratives behind it.

Sorry but there is a difference between commenting on extreme thinness vs commenting on someone being overweight. This is a style/fashion blog, and extreme thinness is highly valued in that world. To not comment on the thinness–to only comment on the clothes, hair, etc–normalizes it. It is not normal, outside the world of fashion. And our daughters are suffering.

Most healthcare workers would say that anorexia is just as dangerous as obesity, yet it’s given a pass that obesity isn’t. The proof is in your own wonderful site, which I’ve been following for years – plenty of lovely underweight beauties and not one single fat woman. Forgive me, but I suspect that if you did post a photo of a fat woman that the comments would be just as aggressive, if not more.

Obesity and anorexia are two sides of the same coin—reflecting the western world’s, and especially North America’s, obsession with food. Posting images of people who are sooooo thin makes both women who are anorexic and women who are obese feel horrible about themselves. I’m curious what you found so striking about this image, because, to me, she looks nice, but doesn’t display the same level of style that characterizes so many of the women on your blog. That said, I still want those flats.

I agree obesity is a bigger problem overall in America. But that’s a separate issue entirely, I think. Eating disorders are still a huge problem that ruins lives (including the life of my twin sister). And in general, overweight people are insulted while extremely thin people are praised. That is the point I was making.

Dear Scott, I think peoples comments have been remarkably restrained and respectful. It seems there is much political correctness about commenting on body weight at all and people are very easy to take offence personally. The facts are plain for all to see from your very illuminating photo-she is extremely thin and boney. That is obvious. After acknowledging that fact, everything else is a process of interpretation in each viewers mind. I think, providing we are not swearing, bullying or verbally abusing, we should be allowed to express our thoughts-whatever they are.

I don’t want to imagine the comments you had to delete… it’s too bad you had to read them at all. NO ONE should be making comments about her weight. Even we did know her, that would be a personal and private discussion. We don’t know her. Some people are just thin and that is that. I have a friend from Brazil who looks similar to this woman. She lifts weights, dances up a storm and eats more than some athletes. She is healthier than most. You can’t always judge someone’s health by their appearance.

For the people who made unkindly comments:

What if this was someone you knew or one of your family members? What if they saw these comments and were distressed by them? Or it brought back horrible memories of them being taunted at school as a kid for being too skinny?

Stay off the weight comments and stick to the style. She chose a great bold pattern and some bright accessories. And ya, all prams are getting larger today. Remember when we all went to work with a small bag?? Now it’s a laptop/briefcase, gymbag, purse and lunch bag for most. The times, they are a changin’.

Many are assuming this woman is the baby’s momma. We don’t see the baby, but he might be a week old or a 6 months old. Maybe she did gain weight with her pregnancy, and like most of us mommas, she wanted to take it off to feel more fit. Or maybe she is be the nanny or the auntie or the very chic nanna. Whoever she is, she is certainly putting together a nice outfit with a haircut that flatters her features. Most importantly, she is spending time with the baby. She is getting her exercise and strolling the little one around. What a pleasant past time, wouldn’t you agree?

Scott, I remember (a year or so ago?) when you encouraged readers to imagine a story that they could leave in the comment section, and it seems that your inference was readers could imagine all types of stories to accompany your photos-not just that particular photo.

My guess is that this is not the mother of a newborn. The infant must be a newborn, because a toddler would be sitting so the viewer could see part of the child. I agree that tact is cool, yet if “The camera adds ten pounds” then this women does not appear to have given birth recently….and for a healthy birth weight women have to gain weight while pregnant.

Please leave the size of this poor woman alone! After the birth of my first child I had been so ill that I was 5 kg below my pre-pregnancy weight so I would have looked like her when the baby was the same size as her’s. I returned to normal in a few months and second time around a lot of effort was made to stop the problem happening again. Want to lose weight? Try 30 weeks of constant morning sickness.

I don’t usually read the comments section of this blog; however, I did so on this occasion assuming that this ‘conversation’ would unfold.
Should the beautiful person who is pictured in this image be reading these comments, please know that I think you are incredibly stylish and so well ‘put together’ (I can barely manage to brush my hair in the mornings so I am in awe just looking at you!) I’m reflecting now on a quote from Scott that I read – I think….on Garance’s blog – where he said that it is often so difficult to get women (and particularly older women) to agree to have their photo taken. So may I add that I think on top of being incredibly stylish, you are also incredibly brave. You have given me a little bit more confidence to wear those lower cut tops that I never do because I have a very bony chest. Thank you. Keep being brave. x

There are so many reasons why she is the size she is, but looking past that, the effort of just getting it together to get out of the house with a brand new baby feels like climbing Everest some days. She has done a superb job and we should praise that skill. And good on her for rejecting those godawful bunny patterned baby bags that appear when you have a baby! Most women ,me included, moan about ‘getting back into our pre-baby jeans’ the minute we give birth. Trouble is people think having the baby is the stressful part – it’s what comes after that almost kills you sometimes. If you struggle post-natal- it’s like any other stress – it often leads to dramatic weight loss or gain.

the comments about her weight isn’t about her not being allowed to look the way she does. The comments are probably (and should be) directed at scott and every one else in this industry who are constantly promoting and glorifying this unhealthy ideal and body type. She has done nothing wrong, but the people promoting her as an ideal for all of us has.

The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this picture was, wow what a stylish mom! I wish I was more like that. Actually coming to think of it, I’m quite stylish and take efforts in how I look, what I put on my body and so forth. However, I barely ever look like that if my child is with me. I look pretty good only when I’m at work, with friends or traveling for work.
Only after reading a few comment, I went back to the picture and realized that indeed she’s really really thin. However it could be the nanny! My nanny is super fashionable and actually pretty thin so yeah she could totally be the younger aunt or the nanny or a friend. Right?

Hmm, I as other also have a hard time noticing the fashion when she’s this thin. I am also a skinny mommy and I was skinny before my son was born too, but as a massage therapist it makes me concern when someone looks underweight. I would say she might be battling a disease or an eating disorder. Either way – she has great fashion style, the stroller looks scary and over all I just hope she is going somewhere to have a burger with fries and a milk shake :P